DURHAM – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team showed Thursday night that it is legitimately playing much better as the MEAC tournament approaches.
The Aggies were not able to stop arch-rival N.C. Central from putting together the perfect conference record as the Eagles came away with a 69-58 win at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium. But it was a game the Aggies had a chance to steal on a few occasions. In the end, the Eagles came away with the win and snapped the Aggies three-game winning streak with a 12-0 advantage in fast-break points.
“The three-game winning streak was not a fluke,” said A&T head coach Cy Alexander. “We're playing a lot better basketball lately. A few mistakes here and there cost us at critical moments. We've got to clean that up between now and Tuesday.”
Juniors Bruce Beckford and Ahmad Abdullah led the Aggies as Beckford had 17 points and Abdullah added 16. The Aggies close out the season 9-22 overall and 6-10 in the MEAC, finishing tied for 9th with Coppin State. The Aggies head into next week's MEAC tournament at the Norfolk Scope as the 10th seed. They will open with No. 7 S.C. State Tuesday night at 8. The winner plays Norfolk State Wednesday at 8 p.m.
The Eagles finished the regular season 24-6 and completed the 16-0 conference season while winning their 35th straight game at home.
“I'm very proud of the effort our young men gave tonight,” said Alexander. “We hope to build upon this effort going into the MEAC tournament.”
A&T trailed by as many as 12 against the Eagles in the second half and the Aggies trailed by 11 with just eight minutes remaining in the game. But Beckford and Khary Doby hit back-to-back jump shots to cut the lead to seven. Beckford then took a pass from Abdullah, spotted up and knocked down a three from the corner to cut the Eagles lead to 54-50 with six minutes remaining.
Two minutes later the lead went down to three as Abdullah drove the lane for a 57-54 score. But just as the Aggies were gaining momentum, Dante Holmes knocked down a three with the shot clock going toward zero. A Jordan Parks turnaround jumper with 2:32 remaining gave the Eagles a 62-54 lead and pretty much put the game away.
“They are 16-0 and regular-season champions and there is a reason why – they don't beat themselves,” said Alexander. “Any time we got close, they would make a big play or hit a big three or make a defensive play and get a transition basket.”
NCCU led 21-10 early, but the Aggies cut the lead to four, 26-22, on a James Whitaker 3-pointer at the 5:53 mark of the first half. The Eagles quickly pushed the lead to eight on two free throws and a Karamo Jawara dunk. Beckford was able to get the lead to three, 34-31, with a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining in the half before Jawara scored at the buzzer to give NCCU a 36-31 halftime lead.
The Aggies found themselves down three again to open the second half before a fast-break layup by Holmes, a Nimrod Hilliard 3-pointer and another fast-break layup Parks pushed the Eagles lead to 45-35 with 16:31 to play.
“Transition baskets hurt us,” said Alexander. “If you take away those 12 points, it's a one-point game.”
Parks led the Eagles with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Hilliard contributed with 17 points and 12 assists and Anthony McDonald added 16 points.
